Nick (left) and Mike Etzell are thrilled to be on the road for three days. Thrilled. (Connie Lippo photos)
Skyy Lippo amuses herself before the start of a game while brother Joey is not sure about this whole “being stalked by the paparazzi” thing.
The (wooden) bats came alive.
Eight different players crunched a hit Saturday, as the Coupeville High School baseball squad rallied to pull out a 7-5 win over the Enumclaw Avengers.
The victory evens the Wolves mark at the Grays Harbor 4th of July Bash at 1-1, and propels CHS into the winners bracket for Sunday’s madness.
As the #8 seed after pool play, Coupeville gets a rematch with Washington Rush Elite Blue Sunday morning.
Beat the team they lost to Friday, and the Wolves advance to the semifinals of the tourney.
Depending on how things play out, CHS will play 2-3 games Sunday as it wraps up the three-day, 13-team event.
Facing off with the Avengers, Coupeville rallied twice, coming back from 1-0 and 5-3 deficits to pull out the win.
After hitting their only rough spot in the top of the fourth, when Enumclaw struck for four runs, the Wolves went into lights-out mode.
Nick Etzell replaced Dane Lucero on the mound, got CHS out of the inning and eventually threw 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings to get the win.
With Etzell firing BB’s, and catcher Taylor Consford on top of his game (he threw out three would-be stealers), Coupeville chipped away at the lead.
After Matt Hilborn manufactured a run in the fourth with a single and several stolen bases, Clay Reilly tied the game up in the fifth with a hard-hit RBI single.
Coupeville reclaimed the lead for good in the sixth, with Hilborn and Etzell stamping on home.
Both reached base thanks to intangibles (Hilborn eked out a walk, while Etzell scrambled to first, taking advantage of an error) and came around to score on a fielders choice and error, respectively.
While the Wolves took full advantage of Enumclaw’s four errors (they had just one themselves), CHS swung hot bats all night.
The big blow came courtesy Jake Hoagland, who mashed an RBI double to right-center in the second inning to plate Etzell.
Consford, Joey Lippo, Reilly, Hilborn, Etzell, Hoagland, Kyle Rockwell and Gavin Knoblich all collected base-knocks, while Jacob Zettle walked, as nine of Coupeville’s 12 hitters reached base.
The Wolves also ran wild on the bags, with Hilborn accounting for three of Coupeville’s six stolen bases.
Coupeville Sports 